Feeding apparatus



May 19, 1942- B. c. SKINNER ET AL FEEDING 'APPARATUS Filed July 20, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7 N ax N May 19, 19 B. c. SKINNER ET AL FEEDING APPARATUS Filed July 20, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Brmsan 6 57mm 4 10M ,fiMAnu/F ATTOR Y EYS Patented May 19, 1942 2,283,615 FEI JDING APPARATUS Bronson" C. Skinner, Dunedin, and James J.

Rucker Bristow,

7 Claims.'

The present invention relates to feeding apparatus and, more particularly, to such apparatus adapted periodically to feed objects to receiving means moving past a receiving or feeding point.

A general object of the invention is the provision of such a device which is of simple construction and readily operable in an efficient manner effectively to deliver one object, such as for example a rollable or globular object, at a time to a receiving unit approximately at the time the latter is moving past a. receiving or feeding point so that the object will be properly received and carried away in a secure manner; and which may be adapted for receiving a plurality of such objects from a supply substantially simultaneously and efiiciently delivering them separately at different times in such-manner to diiferent locations or separate receiving means at the receiving or feeding point.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of such feeding apparatus which may be efiiciently associated with a receiver having receiving means adapted periodically to be moved past a receiving point and which is characterized by means/effectively to engage one object at a time and move it to the receiving point at approximately the same rate of travel as the receiving means at approximately the time the latter moves past the receiving point and at that time to tip the object onto the receiver so that the object will be properly or accurately received and carried away in a secure manner without undue bouncing or displacement.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such feeding apparatus characterized by means effectively to receive from a supply at a desired speed or in a desired manner a plurality of objects approximately simultaneously and to move them to a common delivery or receiving point at approximately the same rate of travel as a plurality of staggered receiving means move therepast at different times and efficiently to deliver each of the objects to one of the receiving means as it is moving past the delivery point.

A further object is the provision in such an apparatus of a plurality of difierently shaped ways each adapted to receive an object approximately at the same time as do the other ways to cause the objects each to be delivered to a position where it is engaged by a feeding means and Safety Harbor, Flat; Bristow assignor to said Skinner Application July 20, 1940, Serial No. 346,512

position in advance of the arrival at that position i A connection with the accompanying drawings, in

said

time to travel without aid down to the engaging of the feeding means which for the different ways may be staggered with respect to each other so that the objects may be delivered from different ways at different times.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should (be had to the following detailed description taken in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view with parts in section and broken away of feeding apparatus of the present invention shown by way of exampleassociated with a certain type of receiving means; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1 showing the relative positions of objects being fed. by the apparatus at a particular stage of operation.

In accordance with the present invention supplying means are provided periodically to supply objects, such' as rollable or globular objects, e. g., citrus fruits. These are to be transferred mechanically to a moving receiving means such as a rotating receiver, or a plurality thereof, which (or each of which) has one or more receiving units, such as recesses or cups, adapted periodically to be moved past a receiving point where one of the objects is delivered to each receiving unit at the time it moves past that point. When rollable or globular objects are fed onto moving 1 receivers or into moving recesses, cups or the like, there may be tendency for the objects to then moved along thereby to a common delivery being so shaped as to permit one ,object at a along t e W y will remain in contact with the be insecurely seated or to bounce out of the receiving means if inadequate precautions are taken. Such difficulties among others are avoided by the operation of the apparatus of the present invention which includes one or more ways along which the objects are caused to travel to the receiving or delivery point at a rate of travel approximately the same as the speed at which each receiving unit passes that point. The-way is preferably so shaped that it approaches that point with at least a slight upward incline to assure that feeding means pushing each object object until it reaches the receiving or delivery point and is there delivered at the aforementioned speed.

The feeding means may comprise any suitable type of engaging devices each adapted to engage an object in the way and to push it therealong to the delivery end at the desired rate of travel. Preferably, it comprises a blade-wheel, the end of each blade of which may engage behind an object in the way and travel therealong at approximately the speed of and in the indicated timed relation with respect to the moving receiving unit.

When a plurality of receivers having receiving units of one staggered with respect to those of other receivers are to be fed from a simultaneously supplied source provision is made for delivering the objects in properly timed relation to the staggered receiving units as each passes the receiving or delivery point. This may be accomplished in accordance with the present invention by feeding the receivers from an equal number of ways associated therewith by an equal number of feeding means, each way being adapted to feed to only one of the receivers. Feeding means associated with one of the ways has the object engaging means thereof staggered with respect to those of other feeding means in the same relation as are the receiving units. Thus the feeding means may all be operated at a common speed to deliver objects to the various receivers at different times or, that is, in different timed relation.

When the feeding means, preferably provided with spaced apart engaging devices such as blades, are to deliver objects one at a time in different timed relation to the receivers from a substantially simultaneously supplied'source the object in each way must be brought to engaging position in advance of the arrival of the engaging device which thereafter pushes it along the way to the receiving or delivery point. In order to accomplish this when the feeding means are traveling at a common speed, preferably operated by a common source of power such as is the case with a plurality of blade wheels mounted upon a common shaft with the blades of one wheel staggered with respect to those of other wheels, the ways are shaped differently. This may best be understood by referring to the ways as having delivery ends at the delivery or receiving point, feed sections extending from the point .at which the feeding means may engage a supplied object and cooperate with the way to deliver it to the receiver, an entrance end for reception of supplied objects and an entrance section extending from the entrance end to the feed section. The way for the receiver in which the receiving units are in the most advanced position is provided with the longest feed section and the shortest entrance section with feed sections of ways for other receivers of decreasingly lesser length with the entrance sections thereof of increasingly greater length in a relation similar to the staggering of the receiving units of each of the receivers with respect to those of other receivers.

For a fuller understanding of the invention reference should be had to the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. A receiver l may comprise ahub ll rotated on an axle l2 by a sprocket I3 with th axle l2 suitably supported by a framework H. The hub II is provided with a plurality of (such as, by way of example, six) radial spokes Iii-I5, terminating as a citrus fruit, e. g. an orange. This receiver cooperates with suitable mechanisms for halving the fruits and squeezing the juice therefrom which are not shown since they constitute no part of the present invention.

' The objects, oranges, may be supplied from a suitable source which may include a sizer belt over which the fruit is run to and under a sizer roll, then down a sloping way wherein it is arranged in single file. Such devices are not shown as being unnecessary to an understanding of the present invention.

The fruit arranged in single file in the aforementioned way may then be picked up by a slat .elevator l'l comprising a continuous belt l8 on which is transversely arranged a plurality of slats iii-I9 which carry each fruit to the position indicated at 20 where the fruit is permitted to roll from the elevator across an apron 2| into an entrance end 22 of'a way 23.

The way 23 has a delivery end 24 terminating at a receiving or delivery point where each of the cups l6l6 receives a fruit tipped from the end of the way by suitable feeding means.

The way 23 is provided with a feed section terminating at the delivery end 24 and extending from an engaging locality where the feeding means engages each supplied fruit, which is approximately indicated at 25 in Fig. 2. The feed section of the way preferably slopesat least slightly upward as is indicated in Fig. 2 so that the feeding means pushing it therealong will remain substantially in contact with and impart to the object a predetermined rate of travel. An entrance section of the way extends from the preferably elevated entrance end 22 to the feed section and. is so shaped as to permit the fruit to travel therealong without aid to the engaging locality.

In the preferred form the way consists of a bottom section 26 in the form of a V-shaped trough and side sections formed by vertical plates 21, 21. Such a shaped way will assure that the fruit will not be misplaced with respectto the feeding means and a predetermined line of travel for the same.

The feeding means preferably comprises a blade-wheel 28 consisting of a hub 29 suitably rotated on a shaft 30 with substantially radially arranged blades 3l--3l mounted on the hub and preferably spaced at equal radial angles from each other. These blades 3l3l preferably are equal in number to the number of receiving cups Iii-I6 and the ends of the blades preferably lie on the circumference of a circle approximately equal in diameter to the outside diameter of the receiver l0 so thatwhen both are rotated approximately at the same R. P. M. they will have approximately the same peripheral speeds.

When such feeding means are used the feed section of the way 23 is preferably curved along the path of the ends of the blades 3l-3l so that the latter will approach the feed section of the way at the engaging locality and sweep-along the feed section tothe delivery end 24, each to carry thereahead a fruit to the receiving or delivery point, indicated by the fruit 13 shown in Fig. 2 to be dropped into one of the cups l6l6. Further the length of the feed section and the en-v trance section of the way 23 are so related as to permit a fruit when it is dumped fromthe elevator l1 at the point 20 on to the apron 2| to roll down to the engaging locality between two succeeding blades.

Each blade 3I of the blade-wheel may com prise a paddle-like member scoop-shaped if desired. as shown, or a 'pair of spoke members axially spaced apart and extending from the hub in the same radial plane may be used to function as and in the manner of a blade. 'Either form will, in cooperation with the Vshape of the bottom section 26 of the way 23, assure that the fruit will travel along a predetermined line without misplacement.

Upon a supporting frame 32 for the slat elevator I1 is mounted a bracket 33 supporting vertical guide plates 34, 34 which aresubstantially in line with side plates 21, 21- of the way 23 to form continuations thereof so that fruit moved by the elevator to the apron 2I at the entrance of the way 23 will be properly supplied to the way' in single file.

On the elevator frame 32 is also mounted an axle 35 carrying a driving roll 36 of the elevator and upon the axle 35 igmounted a driving sprocket 31.

An upright bracket 38 on the frame I4 supports blade-wheel axle 30 and carries an adjustable take-up bracket 39 on which is rotatably mounted an idle sprocket 40.

A power driven shaft 4I carries a sprocket 42 to drive by means of a, chain 43 the receiver sprocket I3, a sprocket 44 to drive the bladewheel 28 by means of a chain 45 engaged over idle sprocket 40 and against a sprocket 45 on the blade-wheel shaft 30,,and a sprocket 41 to drive by means of a chain 48 the elevator sprocket 31.

With the pitch diameters of the various sprockets properly related the receiver It will be driven at approximately the same peripheral speed as is the blade-wheel 28 and the elevator I1 will be driven in timed relation thereto so that each fruit supplied by the elevator will be permitted to roll down the way 23 intermediate adjacent blades 3i, 3| to a position within theengaging locality somewhere near the point 25, thereafter to be picked up by the blade approaching the engaging locality which position is indicated by the fruit at C. Thereafter the fruit will be rolled along the feed section of the way 23 to the delivery end 24 to arrive at the receiving or delivery point indicated by the fruit at B at the same rate of travel as the receiving cup I6 arrives at that point so that the fruit will accurately and gently fall into the cup and thereafter be carried away in a secure manner as indicated by the fruit at A.

A plurality of receivers may be mounted on the shaft I2 each having the receiving cups thereof staggered with respect to those of the other receivers so that at the juice extracting station only one half fruit will be operated on at a time as may bedesired. .For example, receivers I00 and 200 may be mounted alongside receiver I0 with the receiving cups of each staggered with respect to those of the other receivers as shown. Each of cups 2I6--2I6 of receiver 200 are in advance of each of cups IIB-I I6 by about 20 and each of cups IIB-I I6 are in advance of each of cups Iii-I6 by about 20". This relationship requires that the cups of the receivers be fed obas is indicated in Fig. 2 the ways must be so shaped with respect to staggered blades on separate blade-wheels as to permit such feeding.

feeding the receiver 200 are staggered with respect to blades l3I-I3I in the same relation as are the cups 2I62I5 staggered with respect to cups II6II6. The blades I3I--I3I of the second blade-wheel are also staggered with respect to blades 3I--3I of the first blade-wheel in'a sim-' ilar manner. Accordingly a fruit in each way must be supplied between blades of the respective blade-wheels at different engaging positions around the circumference of the circle described by the ends of the blade while travelling. This is accomplished by having the feed section of the way I23 longer than the feed section of way 23 and the feed section 223 longer than the feed section of the way I23 so that the points at which the fruits are fed to the blade-wheels bear an angular relationship to each other similar to that of the blade-wheels and receivers. The shaping of the ways to accomplish this purpose is indicated in Fig. 2.

With the apparatus last described the slat elevator picks up a row of fruits from the way delivering them from the sizer and carries each of them up between guide plates 34, 34; 34, I34; and I34, 234 to the position indicated by the fruits at E, IE and 2E in properly timed relation to the operations of the receivers and blade wheels. The fruits are then moved forward to the points 20 where they are permitted to roll acros the apron 2I into and down the respective ways 23, I23 and 223 as is indicated by the fruits at D, ID and 2D, to the respective engaging localities where they arrive between successive blades of the respective blade-wheels. Fruits jects such as oranges at the receiving or delivery are then carried along the feed sections by the blade-wheels to the receiving or delivery point there to be tipped into the respective receiving cups at different times, viz. the time at which a cup of each receiver arrives at that point.

It will accordingly be seen that the objects set forth above and those indicated thereinafter are efficiently obtained by the apparatus of the present invention andsince certain changes may be made in the above construction and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. I

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

l. A device for feeding rollable objects to a row of receiving units spaced at substantially equal radial angles and adapted to be moved past a receiving point at a certain rate of travel, comprising in combination, a way having an elevated entrance end and a feeding end terminating at the receiving point adapted to feed said row of receiving units; a blade-wheel associated with said way and having radiating blades disposed substantially at equal radial angles from each other and equal in number to the receiving units in the row being fed thereby in cooperation with the associated way; means to supply rollable objects in timed relation to the elevated entrance end of said way; said way comprising a feed section and an entrance section with the former curved along the path of the outer ends of said blades whereby each blade in operation is adapted to engage and roll an object therealong at a rate of travel approximately equal to the rate of travel of the receiving units past the receiving point and to tip the object from the delivery end of the way on to a receiving unit as it passes the receiving point, said entrance section extending from the entrance end to the feed section of said way and down which the objects are adapted to roll without aid, said feed section merging with said entrance section at a point along the path of the ends of said blades so related to the speed of said blades and the timed feeding of the elevated entrance end of said way that an object will roll down the entrance section to arrive at that merging point intermediate of successive blades.

' 2. A feeding device comprising, in combination, a plurality of receiving means adapted to be moved past a receiving point there to receive objects at different times and carry them away in a secure manner; a plurality of gravity feed ing ways each adapted to deliver an object to only one of said receiving means at the receiving point; means to supply objects to all of said ways approximately simultaneously; and a plurality of feeding means each associated with only one of said ways and all operated together each adapted to engage one object at a time in the way associated therewith, push it along the way to the receiving point at approximately the time the latter moves past the receiving point and at such time tip it onto the receiving means; said ways being provided with elevated entrance ends and being so constructed as to permit objects substantially simultaneously supplied to all of ,said ways each to move by gravity in one of the ways at a speed differing from that of objects in all of the other ways and to permit said feeding means associated with the ways to engage the objects therein in different positions and to deliver them to the receiving point at different times.

3. A feeding device comprising,. in combination, a plurality of receiving means adapted to be moved past a receiving point there to receive latter moves past the receiving point and at such time tip it from said delivery end onto the receiving means, an elevated entrance end adapted to receive an object from a supply approximately at the same time as the other ways are each supplied with an object, and an entrance section extending between said entrance end and said feed section so shaped as to permit a supplied object to move by gravity to said feed section in time previous to arrival thereat of feeding means so that the latter may pick up the object and push it along the feed section; and a plurality of feeding means each associated with only one of said ways to move one behind another while all are operated together so as to arrive at their respective way feed sections at approximately the same time and to push objects in the ways at the same speed to the receiving point at different times.

,4. A feeding device comprising, in combination, a plurality of receiving means arranged in staggered relation adapted to be moved past a receiving point at approximately the same speed there to receive objects at difierent times and carry them away in a secure manner; means to supply objects approximately simultaneously; a plurality of ways each adapted to receive an object from said supplying means and to deliver it to only one of said receiving means; and a plurality of feeding means operable together each associated with one of said ways and all arranged in'staggered relation to move objects along said ways to the receiving point at approximately the same rate of travel as said receiving means whereby each object arrives at that point at approximately the time the receiving means being fed therewith moves past that point; each of said ways comprising a delivery end at the receiving point, a feed section along which one of said feeding means pushes one of the objects, an entrance end adapted to receive an object from the supplying means, and an entrance section between said entrance end and said feed section down which the objects will travel without aid, the feed section of the way for the most advanced receiving means being the longest and the entrance section associated therewith being the shortest with the feed sections of ways for succeeding receiving means of'decreasingly lesser length and the entrance sections thereof of increasingly greater length so that objects will be carry them away in a secure manner; means to' supply objects approximately simultaneously; a plurality of ways each adapted to receive'objects from said supplying means and to deliver them only to one row of said receiving units, each .of said ways comprising a delivery end at the receiving point, a feed section adapted to cooperate with feeding means so that the latter may push an object therealong to the receiving point at approximately the same rate of travel as the receiving units at approximately the time one of the receiving units moves past the receiving point and at such time tip the object from the delivery end onto the receiving unit, an eleyated entrance end adapted to receive an object from the supplying means approximately at the same time as the other ways are each supplied with an object, and an entrance section extending between said entrance end and said feed section down which the objects will travel without aid; and feeding means comprising a plurality of blade-wheels operable together each associated with-only one of said ways and having the same number of blades as there are receiving units in the row to be fed thereby, each blade of one wheel being adapted to engage an object supplied to the feed section of the associated way and to deliver it in timed relation to a rewith the feed sections of ways for succeeding rows of receiving units of decreasingly lesser length and the entrance sections thereof of increasingly greater length so that objects will be supplied to all of said feed sections intermediate blades of said blade-wheels.

6. A device for feeding rollable objects to a plurality of rows of receiving units with the units in each row staggered with respect to the units in other rows and all units being adapted to be moved past a receiving point at approximately the same rate of travel, comprising in combination, a plurality of ways terminating at the receiving point each adapted to feed one row of receiving units; an equal number of blade wheels operable together each associated with one of said ways, each wheel having radiating blades disposed substantially at equal radial angles from each other and equal in number to the receiving units in the row being fed thereby in cooperation with the associated way, said blades of each wheel being staggered with respect to the blades in other wheels in the same relation as are the receiving units in one row with respect to those in other rows; means to supply objects approximately simultaneously to elevated entrance ends of said ways; said ways each comprising a feed section and an entrance section with the former curved along the path of the outer ends of the blades whereby each blade in operation is adapted to engage and roll an object therealong at a rate of travel approximately equal to the rate of travel of the receiving units past the receiving point and to tip the object from the delivery end of the way onto a receiving unit as it passes the receiving point, said entrance sections extending from the entrance ends to the feed sections of 'said ways and down which the objects are adapted to roll without aid, said feed sections being longer than others so that an object will roll down to each feed section intermediate blades of said blade-wheels in advance of the blade adapted to roll each object to the receiving point at the proper time.

7. A device for receiving a plurality of objects from a supply substantially simultaneously and delivering them separately to different locations at a feeding point at difierent times and at a predetermined rate of travel comprising, in combination, a plurality of ways each having an elevated entrance end adapted for reception of an object from the supply, a delivery end terminating at the feeding point, an arcuate shaped feed section along which an object is to be pushed to the feeding point, and an entrance section extending from the entrance end to the feed section and down which objects are adapted to travel without aid; a plurality of blade-wheels operable together with one associated with each way so that the blades thereof will engage objects in the feed sections and impel them therealong, the blades of each wheel radiating at substantially equal radial angles from each other and being staggered with respect to the blades of other of said blade-wheels whereby objects will be delivered from ways at different times; said feed sections being of different lengths and the entrance sections merging therewith at points along the paths of the ends of said blades with such points of successive ways having substantially the same radial angular relationship with respect to each other as do the blades of the successive bladewheels.

BRONSON C. SKINNER.

JAMES J. RUCKER BRIS'IOW. 

